The 2026 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour season got underway in spectacular fashion at Mount Maunganui, with Australia’s Solomon Bushby & Justin Schumann and Romania’s Beata Vaida & Francesca Alupei claiming gold at the first Futures event of the year.

Across five matches, both winning pairs went undefeated, each securing their first-ever Beach Pro Tour gold medal, marking a milestone moment on the world stage.

Men’s Competition

Third-seeded Australians Bushby & Schumann were clinical throughout the tournament, dropping just two sets on their way to the top of the podium. Their Sunday campaign began with a hard-fought semifinal victory over Japan’s Nassim Malki & Yu Takuma, winning 2–1 (21–17, 19–21, 15–12).

In the gold medal match, the Australians edged out fifth-seeded Americans Gage Basey & Thomas Hurst in a tense three-set battle, winning 2–1 (21–16, 26–28, 15–11). The victory delivered not only their first gold, but their first Beach Pro Tour medal of any colour.

Basey & Hurst had also arrived at the final unbeaten, including a strong semifinal performance where they defeated fellow Americans Diego Perez & David Wieczorek 2–0 (21–16, 23–21). Perez & Wieczorek went on to secure bronze with a 2–0 win over Malki & Takuma, earning their first Beach Pro Tour podium.

Women’s Competition

Romania’s Beata Vaida & Francesca Alupei delivered a composed and resilient performance across the women’s tournament, winning all five of their matches to claim gold. After edging Japan’s Sakura Ito & Mayu Sawame in the semifinals, the Romanians mounted a three-set comeback in the final to defeat New Zealand’s top-seeded pairing Shaunna Polley & Olivia MacDonald 2–1 (16–21, 21–19, 15–13).

Despite narrowly missing gold, Polley & MacDonald’s silver medal marks their second Beach Pro Tour medal as a team, following their Futures gold at Nuvali in 2025, and continues their strong progression on the international stage.

Ito & Sawame secured bronze after a three-set win over USA qualifiers Kelly Belardi & Charlotta Bell, earning their second Beach Pro Tour medal.

New Zealand Results Summary

New Zealand athletes were well represented across both draws at the Mount Maunganui Futures, delivering strong performances on home sand.

• Polley / MacDonald – 🥈 Silver

• Reid / Fuller – 5th

• Sadlier / Krajci – 5th

• Harrison / Green – 5th

• Tiplady / Rawle – 9th

• MacManaway / Tiplady – 9th

• Tyler / Grant – 9th

• Sadlier / Dickson – 13th

• Clough / Allison – 17th

• Heggie / Smith – 17th

• Goffi / Imhasly – 21st

• Gailer / Clarke – 21st

• Horsley / Schrider – 21st

• Pacheco / Smith – 21st

• Webby / Black – 21st

A Strong Start to the Season

The Mount Maunganui Futures featured 28 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams, representing 11 national federations, and showcased the depth of international competition alongside New Zealand’s growing presence on the Beach Pro Tour.

With world-class volleyball, strong Kiwi representation, and an iconic Mount Maunganui backdrop, the opening event of the 2026 Beach Pro Tour set a high benchmark for the season ahead.

A huge mihi to our partners MediaWorks, SAS, Skinnies, No Ugly, Yomi, O-Studio and Tauranga City Council for their ongoing support. We also extend our sincere thanks to local iwi and hapū for their tautoko, not only at the pōwhiri but throughout the entirety of the event. 

Watch on Demand the Thursday- Saturday Games here on https://www.vnzplus.tv/

Semi-Finals and Finals https://www.youtube.com/@beachvolleyballworld/streams

If you and your business would love to be a part of our Mount Maunganui 2027 Futures, please contact ella@volleyballnz.org.nz 

Article added: Tuesday 10 February 2026